The battle axes are sharpened and starting to swing in Germany between the three largest luxury car makers, as Audi admits for the first time that they plan to sell their compact Q3 SUV in America.

The Volkswagen-based luxury brand has been hinting and teasing the notion that we might get the Q3 on North American soil, but until now there wasn’t any way to be sure. Now Audi has confirmed it will reveal a Q3 “Vail” Concept at the Detroit Auto Show on Monday, using the vehicle as part of a larger strategy to overtake BMW as the top-selling luxury brand by 2015.

“The next pillar of the market that we have to conquer is the United States,” Audi CEO Rupert Stadler said in London on Thursday. “We see opportunities in the SUV and sedan segments.”

Audi has been growing as a brand outside the U.S. but making a more solid footprint in the American market is essential for them to meet their goal. Here in the States BMW and Mercedes still have a strong grip on luxury sales, but by introducing smaller cars, Audi may be able to change that. Along with the Q3, Audi is expected to deliver several versions of its next generation A3, including a sedan.

Another key point in their strategy will be manufacturing cars domestically rather than shipping and therefore significantly limiting availability to consumers, something BMW and Mercedes have already figured out.

It isn’t as easy as flipping a switch, though, according to Stadler, Audi is finally profitable in America, giving them the confidence to go from wading into full swim.

“In the next decade, we will have to think about the next icon in the Audi brand,” Stadler said. Given the strong trend toward smaller, more economy-minded cars, we’re eager to see what he has up his sleeve.

GALLERY: Audi A3 Concept

[Source: Automotive News]

Audi‘s answer to BMW‘s i3 EV will be on display at the Frankfurt Motor Show, but they just couldn’t wait until then to show off what we can expect to see. Despite these photos being mostly computer generated renderings they give a good idea of Audi’s direction with their A2 Concept, which currently is rumored to arrive around 2015. Chances are, Audi’s electric subcompact will focus more on luxury and fuel economy than BMW’s i3, and its styling definitely takes on Audi’s traditional cues.

Currently the A2 Concept is powered by an electric drivetrain featuring an 85kW engine with lithium ion batteries to shoot 199 lb-ft of torque to the front wheels. It will be able to travel around 125-miles on a single charge and will take around four hours to charge back up. Rumor has it that it’ll have a top speed of 93-mph and a 0-60 time in 9 seconds. Not too shabby for a high-tech EV.

The grand debut will happen next week, so stay tuned for real, genuine photos of Audi’s A2 Concept at AutoGuide’s Frankfurt Auto Show page here.

GALLERY: Audi A2 Concept

The Audi A2 was well ahead of its time when it launched in 1999, and it paid dearly for its advanced nature, with a short lifespan and disappointing sales.

But the A2, which was capable of getting 78 mpg in some trim levels, appears set for a renaissance. Times have changed, and the demand for a small, ultra-efficient premium car appears to be there, and Audi is investigating the revival of their quirky compact. Autocar is reporting that Audi is investigating the prospect, and has set some very ambitious targets, notably a curb weight of just under 1800lbs. With its small footprint and aluminum construction, a figure like that is theoretically possible (and the original A2 only weighed about 220 lbs more), but with modern conveniences and safety features, Audi’s engineers still have a monumental task ahead of them.

With Audi planning to use aluminum spaceframes across most of its model range, the A2′s development costs could theoretically by absorbed across a large number of models – a crucial factor in a car that was considered to have been too expensive for its time. On the other hand, things are looking far different than they did in 1999, and the A2 may finally be ready for mainstream acceptance.

[Source: Autocar]

Audi will revive the A2 model, to slot in between its A3 hatchback and the funky new A1 model, which the company debuted at the Geneva Auto Show last week. “There’s clearly room for another product and another concept between the A3 and A1,” said Audi CEO Rupert Stadler to AutoWeek, which comes as a bit of a surprise considering how close the two models really are.

According to the AutoWeek report, the A2 will play a role in Audi’s electric vehicle push, with a new model expected to arrive in 2014. It’s not clear if the next generation A2 will keep the original’s function-first approach or if Audi will attempt to make it a more premium and more sport-oriented model.

There is a strong possibility that the A2 will actually just be an electric version of the A1 (shown as the A1 E-Tron in Geneva).

[Source: AutoWeek]